Swiveling rocker crutch



1951 K. G. A. THUNBERG SWIVELING ROCKER CRUTCH Filed Aug. 26, 1947INVENTOR. KNUTE G A. THUNBERG v v r l/ ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 2, 1951UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

My invention relates to swivelling rocker crutches, and its objects areto reduce undue friction or strain of the human armpit upon the arm restof the crutch; to diminish the discomfort occasioned by, or accompanyingthe use of, the rigid form of shoulder crutch now in common use; tolessen the wear occasioned from rubbing contact of the crutch upon theclothes of the user thereof; to bring about automatically desiredadjustments of the arm rest, when the crutch is used in walking,conforming to the movements of the human body and tending to preventexcessive strain thereon; to provide a pivotally spring mounting of thearm rest upon the body of the crutch, and self-adjusting rocking andtorsional movements of said rest without affecting the stability of thecrutch; to accommodate the user in the support and manipulation of thecrutch so as greatly to reduce his fatigue in the act of walking; torender the parts readily accessible for inspection, removal,replacement; renewal and repair, and generally to provide a device whichis economical of construction, efficient in action, and of prolongedlife and durability. These and other objects will appear from thedrawing, and as hereinafter more fully set forth and described.

My invention primarily consists in a shoulder crutch, comprising an armrest shaped for ready engagement with the human armpit and havingrocking swivelling engagement with the main body of the crutch, saidengagement being secured by a helical spring the ends of which arefirmly seated in sockets provided therefor in adjacent portions of saidrest and body of the crutch respectively, permitting said rocking andswivelling movement.

My invention further consists of novel features of construction, andcombinations and arrangements of elements and parts shown in the drawingand more particularly hereinafter pointed out and claimed.

Attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawing, illustrating apreferred form of my invention, in which similar numerals of designationrefer to similar parts throughout the several views, and in which-Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved swivelling rocker crutch andskirt secured to the arm rest thereof;

Fig. 2 is an enlargement of the upper portion of the view shown in Fig.1, showing the skirt broken away for the purpose of better illustration;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 2,

showing the parts further broken away to illuswith the body of thecrutch, including the heavy helical spring and sockets therefor;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction ofthe arrows, and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail View of the seating of the lower end of thespring as shown in section in Fig. 3.

As'shown in the drawing, my improved crutch 4 comprises the leg 5, foot6, arms 1 and 8, handhold 9, head Hi, arm rest ll, swivelling pivotalconnector l2, and arm rest skirt l3. The arms I and 8 are ofconventionalconstruction and are secured in any suitable manner to thehead Ill. The head I!) is formed with the rounded top l4, and hasdepressed therein at the center thereof the recess 15, shaped to receivethe metal socket 16, the rim 22 of which is extended to conform to thesurface of said top, and which is secured thereto by the screws l7.Adjacent to the socket l6 and in registration therewith is the metalsocket l8, seated in the recess l9 formed in the bottom wall of the armrest i I, and having its rim 2!) conforming to said wall, and securedthereto by the" screws 2|. The swivelling pivotal connector l2 consistsof a helical spring, the looped ends I 2a, I217 of which extend throughopenings provided therefor in the bottoms of said socketsand which arerespectively secured to pins or screws 23, 24, embedded in therespective walls of the arm rest II and the head ID of the crutch; theend convolutions of said spring rest: ing against the shoulders 26, 21,respectively at the ends of said sockets. This helical spring ispreferably sturdy in character, as for example five-eighths of an inchin diameter and of twelve gauge wire, but may be of any dimensions orgauge suitable for the purposes of the invention.

As shown, the said spring permits not only the rocking of the arm rest Hthereon, but also a swivelling torsional movement thereof; the adjacentconfronting faces of said rest and head being thereby separated and atall times held out of contact, so that the said rest rocks and swivelssolely upon said spring and out of contact with said head. Preferably,for the purpose of limiting the twist of said torsional movement and ofguarding the Working parts of the crutch and also to improve theappearance thereof, I secure to the peripheral wall of the arm rest inan annular groove 25 provided therefor, the skirt l3 of leather or othersuitable material. This skirt also serves to prevent the clothing of theuser of the crutch from being caught in the Patent is: r

and the arm rest is placed in contact with his arm pit, and a step istaken by him, it is obvious that whatever contact is made by the foot 6of said crutch with the ground or whatever position'the arms I and 8 mayassume in the act of walking, the rest II will immediately adjust andaccommodate itself with the said arm pit; the rest I! rocking upon theconnector spring i2 or pivoting torsionally thereon to conformautomatically with the movement of the body, swing of the arm and twistof the crutch. At the same time, the said spring [2, together with thecushioning effect of said pad, will tend to diminish the shock upon theuser of the crutch of its contact with the ground.

My invention may be embodied in other specificforms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment, as above set forth, is therefore to be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of my inventionbeing indicated by the appended claims rather than by the abovedescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofcom?- 'alen'cy of the claims are therefore intended to beembracedtherein. What I claim and desire to'secure b Letters I 1. In aswivelling rocker crutch, the combination of a head having a socketcentrally located therein; an arm rest having a socket thereinregistering with the socket of said head, and resilient means seated andanchored against turning in said sockets and connecting said'head andrest and permitting said rest to rock and swivel solely upon said meansand out of contact with said head. 7

2. In a swivelling rocker crutch, the combination of a head having asocket centrally located therein; an arm rest having a socket thereinregistering with the socketof said head, and a single helical spring,the ends of which are firmly seated and anchored against-turning in saidsockets, connecting said'head and'rest and permitting said rest to rockand swivel solely upon said spring and out of contact with said head.

3. In a swivelling rocker crutch, the combination of a rounded headhaving a socket centrally located therein; an arm rest with an armateshaped bottom having a socket therein regis'tering with the socket ofsaid head, and a single helical spring, the ends of which are firmlyseated and anchored against turning in said sockets, connecting saidhead and rest and permitting said rest to rock and swivel solely uponsaid spring and out of contact With said head, in conformance with themovements of the arm and body of the person using the crutch.

4. In a swivelling rocker crutch, the combination of a rounded headhaving a socket centrally located therein; an arm rest with an arouateshaped bottom having a socket therein registering with the socket ofsaid head, and a single helical spring, the ends of which are firmlyiseated and anchored against turning in said sockets, connecting saidhead and rest and permitting said rest to rock and swivel solely uponsaid spring and out of contact with said head,

and a skirt secured to the edge of said rest and depending therefrom andguarding the working parts of said spring and serving to protect theclothing of the user from contact therewith,

5. In a swivelling rocker crutch, the combination of a rounded headhavinga metallic socket centrally located therein; an arm rest with anarcuate shaped bottom having a metallic socket therein registering withthe socket of said head; a single helical spring the convolutions ofwhich are firmly seated in said sockets with looped ends extendingthrough the bottoms thereof REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences'are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 467,675 McGrain s Jan. 26-, 18921,407,553 Louison Feb. 21-, 1922 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 716,614 SWeden.- Apr. 18, 1903

